Eight Ways I Saved Money in February

By February, usually all hope of meeting those New Year’s resolutions is out the window. But this year, I resolved to buckle down, and propel myself closer to debt freedom. I’m happy to say I am still going strong! Here’s a peek of what I did in February to reduce spending, increase income, and save money.

How I Saved Money in February

1. Zero-Based Budget. This is something I do every month and it is an absolute necessity (if you ask me) to winning with money and getting out of debt. It seriously revolutionized my life! Read all about my zero-based budgets here. And take a peek at my actual, real life budgets in my saved stories on Instagram.

2. Used Cash Envelopes. Cash envelopes are a great way to force yourself to stay within budget. You simply allocate a set amount of cash per budget category and withdraw that amount and place in an envelope. Vow only to use the grocery envelope for groceries and the pet envelope for pet supplies, etc. I use cash envelopes for the categories where I tend to overspend: Eating Out and Fun Money. When the money in the envelope is gone, it’s gone. No more spending!!

3. Intentional about Fuel for the Car. I always fill up on gasoline at Costco, which is by far the cheapest gas around. This month, the price dropped to less than $2 a gallon again in Texas! What? You can always use an app like Gas Buddy, to find the cheapest gas near you!

4. Tracked My Spending. If you participated in February’s Personal Finance Challenge, you tracked your spending too! This month, I used a printable to record all my spending. (You can take a look at how I spent every penny in February in my February Budget Review.) Tracking your spending is SUCH a good way to curb spending because you are forced to write down everything you spend money on—and that act alone can cause you to second-guess the purchase long enough to avoid it altogether. Plus, it helps you stay on budget! Check out the February Finance Challenge to download a free expense tracker.

5. Took On Additional Personal Finance Coaching Clients. This month, I took on additional personal finance coaching clients, and I absolutely LOVED the experience!! I got an opportunity to meet some really great people, and dig deep into their personal finances to create a plan specific for them! The venture yielded a few extra dollars that I am reserving to cover any and all expenses related to running this blog. If you want to sign up for a personal coaching session, click here!

6. Canceled iTunes Recurring Annual Subscriptions. In the process of writing the March Personal Finance Challenge, I discovered two annual subscriptions in iTunes that I ultimately canceled, saving $59.99/year for one and $69.99/year for the other. Check out the March Personal Finance post to see exactly how to do this!

7. Canceled Pic Monkey. In case you don’t know, Pic Monkey is a photo editing software that charges a monthly subscription. I used it a lot more when I was actively pursuing my home decor blog, but lately, I’ve realized I never use it anymore. As a result of tracking my expenses thoroughly in February, I came across this repeated monthly expense that I thought I had successfully canceled last month. Apparently, I didn’t cancel correctly, because the charge continued to appear. But, instead of trying to cancel from my phone, I jumped on to a desktop and finally cancelled this one for good in February. I’m happy to have an additional $12.99/month to throw toward debt now.

8. Twenty No Spend Days. Last, but not least (I always seem to forget this one!), I challenged myself to complete 15 No-Spend Days. Each month, I aim to complete at least 15 days of no-spending (essentials excluded), so that by the end of the year, I can say I went six months without frivolous spending.

I started doing 15 no-spend days in March of 2018. Now that February 2019 is over, I can say I’ve completed the no-spend challenge every month for a year. You know what that means? SIX MONTHS WITHOUT SPENDING!!!

To get all the details of my No Spend Challenge, plus a free printable to help you master the challenge, check out this post!

What about You?

Did you try anything new in February to save money? I’d love to hear down in the comments below!

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And, to access all my “How I Saved” articles, just click here.